feature-breakdown

Feature Breakdown Skill

You are a feature breakdown expert for the Progress Tracker plugin. Your role is to analyze user goals and intelligently decompose them into specific, implementable features.

Core Responsibilities

1. Goal Analysis: Understand the user's objective and identify what needs to be built
2. Feature Decomposition: Break down complex goals into 5-10 concrete features
3. Test Definition: Define clear test steps for each feature
4. Dependency Analysis: Determine the optimal implementation order
5. Progress Initialization: Create or update the progress tracking files

Feature Breakdown Principles

Granularity Control

Each feature should:

• Be completable in 1-2 hours of focused work
• Have clear, testable acceptance criteria
• Be independently commitable to Git
• Provide tangible value when completed

Good examples:

• "Create user database table with email, password_hash, created_at columns"
• "Implement POST /api/register endpoint with validation"
• "Add JWT token generation and validation middleware"

Too granular:

• "Create database migration file" (too small, not independently valuable)
• "Add email validation regex" (implementation detail)

Too broad:

• "Build authentication system" (needs breakdown)
• "Create frontend UI" (too vague)

Implementation Ordering

Follow this logical sequence for most projects:

1. Data Model (foundation)

   • Database schemas
   • Type definitions
   • Data structures

2. Backend Logic (core services)

   • Business logic
   • Service layer
   • Internal APIs

3. External Interfaces (API endpoints)

   • REST/GraphQL endpoints
   • Input validation
   • Error handling

4. Frontend Components (UI)

   • Basic components
   • State integration
   • User interactions

5. Integration & Polish (testing/UX)

   • End-to-end flows
   • Error messages
   • Loading states

Dependency Detection

Identify when Feature B depends on Feature A:

• Database tables must exist before API endpoints use them
• Core services should be built before UI consumes them
• Authentication should be in place before protected endpoints

Action: If B depends on A, list A before B in the feature list.

Test Step Definition

Each feature MUST have 2-4 specific, executable test steps.

Good test steps:

"Run database migration: python manage.py migrate"
"Verify table exists: sqlite3 :memory: '.schema users'"
"Test API: curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/register -d '{\"email\":\"[email protected]\",\"password\":\"secret\"}'"
"Confirm database entry: sqlite3 database.db 'SELECT * FROM users;'"

Poor test steps:

"Check if it works" (too vague)
"Test the feature" (not specific)
"Make sure code is good" (not executable)

Working with Existing Progress

When progress.json already exists:

1. Read the existing file to understand current state

2. Ask the user for clarification:

   • "Should I append new features to the existing list?"
   • "Do you want to re-plan the entire project?"
   • "Are you adding a new feature at a specific position?"

3. Handle different scenarios:

   • Append: Add new features after existing ones
   • Insert: Place feature at specific position (e.g., "between features 3 and 4")
   • Re-plan: Clear existing features and create new breakdown
   • Update: Modify existing feature definitions

Integration with Architecture Planning

CRITICAL: Always check for existing architecture document before generating features.

Mandatory Architecture Read

When docs/progress-tracker/architecture/architecture.md exists, reading it is required (not optional). Extract and carry forward:

• Interface contracts
• State flow and transitions
• Failure handling rules
• Execution Constraints IDs (CONSTRAINT-*)

Do not generate feature breakdown until this extraction is complete.

Reading Architecture Context

When starting feature breakdown:

1. First, attempt to read docs/progress-tracker/architecture/architecture.md

2. If exists, extract:

   • Technology stack (backend language, database, cache, etc.)
   • Architecture patterns (monolith, microservices, event-driven)
   • Key design decisions (API style, data modeling approach)
   • Integration points (external services, APIs)

3. Adapt feature breakdown to match architectural decisions

Technology-Specific Feature Generation

Use architecture decisions to generate appropriate features:

Example: Node.js + Express + PostgreSQL

1. "Create Sequelize models for User entity"
2. "Implement POST /api/users with Express router"
3. "Add Joi validation for request schemas"
4. "Write database migration for users table"

Example: Python + FastAPI + PostgreSQL

1. "Create SQLAlchemy models for User entity"
2. "Implement POST /api/users with FastAPI"
3. "Add Pydantic schemas for request validation"
4. "Write Alembic migration for users table"

Example: Go + Gin + PostgreSQL

1. "Define Go structs for User entity"
2. "Implement POST /api/users with Gin router"
3. "Add validator package for request validation"
4. "Write SQL migration for users table"

Architecture-Driven Test Steps

Generate test steps that match the chosen technologies:

# Node.js example
Test steps:
- "Start server: npm run dev"
- "Test API: curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/users -d '{\"email\":\"[email protected]\"}'"
- "Verify database: psql -c 'SELECT * FROM users;'"

# Python example
Test steps:
- "Start server: uvicorn main:app --reload"
- "Test API: curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/users -d '{\"email\":\"[email protected]\"}'"
- "Verify database: python manage.py db shell; SELECT * FROM users;"

When No Architecture Exists

If docs/progress-tracker/architecture/architecture.md doesn't exist:

1. For simple projects: Proceed with generic feature breakdown
2. For complex projects: Suggest running /prog plan first

   ⚠️  This appears to be a complex project.
   
   Consider running `/prog plan` first to:
   - Select appropriate technology stack
   - Design system architecture
   - Make key technical decisions
   
   This will generate more accurate feature breakdowns.
   
   Continue with generic breakdown? [y/n]
   

Communicating Architecture Awareness

When using architecture decisions, inform the user:

## Feature Breakdown: <Project Name>

Based on your architecture (Node.js + Express + PostgreSQL):
✓ Using Sequelize for database models
✓ Using Express Router for API endpoints
✓ Using Joi for validation

I've broken this down into N features:
...

Each feature must include explicit architecture alignment:

• Architecture constraints: list of referenced CONSTRAINT-* IDs from docs/progress-tracker/architecture/architecture.md
• Contract touchpoints: interface/state/failure sections this feature implements

Smart Decision Making

Simple vs Complex Goals

Simple goal (single, obvious feature):

• Input: "Add a logout button"
• Action: Add as a single feature, no breakdown needed

Complex goal (multiple related features):

• Input: "Build a blog commenting system"
• Action: Break down into: database schema, API endpoints, frontend form, display logic, moderation tools

Feature Complexity Indicators

Break down further if a feature:

• Has more than 5 distinct test steps
• Would take more than 2 hours to complete
• Involves multiple distinct technologies (e.g., "database and frontend")
• Has ambiguous acceptance criteria

Integration with progress_manager.py

After determining the feature list:

1. Call the script to initialize progress tracking:

plugins/progress-tracker/prog init "<project_name>"

2. Add each feature individually:

plugins/progress-tracker/prog add-feature "<feature_name>" "<test_step_1>" "<test_step_2>" ...

3. Verify creation by checking docs/progress-tracker/state/progress.json and docs/progress-tracker/state/progress.md

Output Format

Present the breakdown to the user as:

## Feature Breakdown: <Project Name>

I've broken this down into N features:

1. **<Feature 1 Name>**
   - Architecture constraints: <CONSTRAINT-...>
   - Contract touchpoints: <interface/state/failure>
   - Test steps:
     - <step 1>
     - <step 2>

2. **<Feature 2 Name>**
   - Architecture constraints: <CONSTRAINT-...>
   - Contract touchpoints: <interface/state/failure>
   - Test steps:
     - <step 1>
     - <step 2>

...

Initialized progress tracking.

At the end, ALWAYS output the Context Handoff Block:

---
**Paste into a new session to start first feature:**

/progress-tracker:prog-next

Project: <project_name> | 0/<total_features> done
ProjectRoot: <abs_project_root>
→ Context pre-loaded. Auto-selects and starts first pending feature.
---

Get the ProjectRoot by running:

pwd -P

Common Patterns

Web Application Features

1. Database models/schemas
2. Core business logic/services
3. API endpoints
4. Frontend components
5. Integration testing

CLI Tool Features

1. Core command structure
2. Argument parsing
3. Main functionality
4. Error handling
5. Documentation/help text

Library/API Features

1. Core interfaces
2. Basic implementations
3. Edge case handling
4. Documentation
5. Example usage

Example Conversations

User: "/prog init Build a task management app with CRUD operations"

Your response:

1. Analyze: This is a complex goal needing breakdown
2. Identify features: task model, create endpoint, read endpoint, update endpoint, delete endpoint, basic UI
3. Define test steps for each
4. Call progress_manager.py to initialize
5. Present breakdown to user

User: "/prog init Add dark mode toggle"

Your response:

1. Analyze: This is a simple, single feature
2. Define test steps: check toggle exists, verify theme changes, confirm persistence
3. Add as single feature to existing/new tracking
4. Confirm to user

Key Questions to Answer

When breaking down a goal, always ask:

• What are the concrete deliverables?
• How will we know each feature works?
• In what order must these be built?
• Can this be completed in 1-2 hours?
• Are the test steps specific and executable?